Lighting quality can play a significant role in a student’s performance. Most schools still utilize inefficient and poor-quality lighting systems that create unoptimized environments for students. In this week’s LED lighting applications blog, we will discuss how modern LED lighting can improve student performance while reducing energy and maintenance costs.
Lighting & Student Performance
Does being under fluorescent lighting make you feel groggy, unfocused or even cause headaches? Well, you’re not alone and many people feel the same way you do! What you are experiencing is called Photophobia, it is a sensitivity to light caused by certain wavelengths and brightness. If you look at the spectrum of fluorescent light, you will see several spikes in colors. These spikes can create sensitivity in those who are sensitive to light. Over time, this can have physical effects including headaches and decreased focus.
Student performance is a key measure for any education program. Considering how common Photophobia is, many students can experience decreased performance due to poor, outdated lighting in their classrooms. LED lighting is a great solution to this common problem. They offer smooth lighting that can easily be controlled and adjusted depending on student’s and teacher’s needs. Furthermore, LEDs emit light that closely resembles sunlight offering a more natural light source, unlike fluorescent lights constant spikes.
Learning environments play a significant role in students’ performance. Quality lighting can greatly improve an environment and ensure it’s optimized for students. Modern LED lighting systems utilize controls that enable the end-user to customize their lighting and optimize it depending on their needs. A few common features of modern control systems include dimming, daylight harvesting, and task tuning. All these features combined can create a more comfortable and enhanced space for students and teachers alike. A recent study found that students achieved a higher percentage increase in oral reading fluency performance when working in a room equipped with LED lights that were optimized for the student’s performance.
Energy Savings + Maintenance
Lighting is a large electrical demand for school systems as the lights commonly run long hours. Outdated options like fluorescent lighting have very short lifetimes and consume significantly more energy compared to modern LED lights. On average, LED’s use 70% less energy than outdated options while commonly lasting 10x longer than fluorescent lights. These energy savings will show up directly on your utility bill reducing the monthly cost of energy for your facilities.
Furthermore, LED lighting is maintenance-free compared to fluorescent tubes which have a much shorter lifetime than LED lights. This will save your maintenance team time by removing the need to constantly swap out tubes and replace lamps. Constantly replacing lights is a cost that can quickly add up which can be avoided by upgrading. Therefore, LED lights not only save you on energy costs but also greatly reduce maintenance costs for your buildings.
Conclusion
LED lighting is the future of lighting for education facilities. Integra LED has worked with several school districts in New York to help create a better environment for students and save on energy costs. The future is here and it’s only a matter of time before all schools harness the power of LED lighting and controls. Be on the leading edge of this technology and upgrade your school with Integra LED. We offer free lighting assessments to get the process started and give you a better idea of the savings and benefits you could see!
